Sens aim to build momentum as trip shifts to Carolina

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Ottawa Senators aim for a second straight win at the
start of a three-game road trip, as they visit the sliding Carolina Hurricanes
for Sunday's battle at PNC Arena.

Ottawa had lost three in a row heading into the opener of its current swing on
Saturday, but the Senators used a pair of late power-play goals to end the
slide and defeat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2.

Clarke MacArthur scored twice for the Senators, giving him three goals over
the past three games and six on the season. Bobby Ryan posted a goal and an
assist while Chris Neil also scored for the Senators. Robin Lehner made 34
saves in the win.

With the score tied at 2-2 early in the third period, the Senators regained
the lead when Ryan scored on a two-man advantage with over 16 minutes
remaining. The score stayed 3-2 until MacArthur provided insurance with a
power-play marker with 4:02 left in the third.

"When your special teams can win you hockey games, it's a good sign," said
Ottawa forward Jason Spezza said. "It shows that we were organized and
focused, and those are all things that are good."

Ottawa improved to 5-4-2 on the road and the Sens can post victories in
consecutive away games for just the second time this season with another win
tonight. The Sens, who will complete this trek Wednesday in Washington,
previously won in Phoenix and Detroit from Oct. 15-23.

The Senators had lost four straight in the series with Carolina before
notching a 3-2 regulation win in Ottawa on April 16 of last season. However,
the Hurricanes have claimed seven of 10 in this series overall and also have
recorded wins in two straight and nine of the past 10 encounters in North
Carolina.

Craig Anderson is expected to start Sunday's game for Ottawa. The veteran
goaltender is 5-2-4 with a 2.58 goals against average in 11 career outings
against Carolina.

The Hurricanes enter Sunday on a four-game slide, but they did record their
first point of the skid with Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss at Boston. David
Krejci notched the game-winner 1:28 into OT for the Bruins.

On the deciding goal, Jarome Iginla split two defenders between the circles
and got goaltender Cam Ward to commit before dishing to the slot for Krejci,
who waited for Ward to dive back to the net before roofing the disc to send
Boston to its seventh win in its last nine games. Ward posted 35 saves in
defeat.

Patrick Dwyer tied the game with a short-handed tally at 11:10 of the third,
while Andrej Sekera added his fifth of the season for the Hurricanes.

"Patty (Dwyer) made a great play to get the opportunity to skate in there,"
Carolina head coach Kirk Muller said of Dwyer's short-handed goal. "Obviously
a huge goal at the right time."

Carolina has lost five straight games once already this season, suffering
through an 0-5-0 stretch from Oct. 24-Nov. 2.

Beginning with Sunday's test, the Hurricanes are playing three of their next
four games at home. Carolina is 5-4-4 at PNC Arena this season and 3-6-1 on
the road.

With Carolina playing on consecutive days, backup goaltender Justin Peters
could give Ward a rest on Sunday. Peters has faced the Sens just once in his
career, as he took a loss despite making 31 saves in the 3-2 road setback on
April 16 of last season.

Ward is 11-7-1 with a 2.51 GAA in 20 lifetime outings versus the Senators.